Mangino eager to get offense rolling at Iowa State

New coordinator promises to fit system to players' skills

FILE - In this Oct. 24, 2009, file photo, Kansas coach Mark Mangino looks on during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma in Lawrence, Kan. Mangino has resigned two years after leading the Jayhawks to the greatest season in their checkered football history. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner, File)

Upon his hiring as offensive coordinator, Mark Mangino watched about one hour of film from last season. More reels, more rewinds, more reviews await, but recruiting comes first.

When Mangino returned to Ames on Tuesday, he immediately went on the road for five days to visit prospects. Another five-day junket was planned for this week.

Securing additional talent is a must after Iowa State finished 3-9 overall and 2-7 in the Big 12. In failing to qualify for a bowl, the Cyclones averaged 363 yards and 25 points. Their leading passer averaged 127 yards per game, and their leading rusher 57.

All those are failing marks in the potent Big 12, reasons Paul Rhoads turned to Mangino, a former head coach with vast knowledge of the league, and its footprint, after serving as an assistant at Kansas State and Oklahoma, then as head coach at Kansas.

“We will shape our offense to what best fits our players’ talent and ability,” Mangino said. “The core of it is what I’ve done over the years, but the game’s changed, and I’ve changed with it. I’ve evolved with the game.”

That evolution will be interesting to track in many capacities with Mangino taking over as play-caller for Iowa State.

The last time he coached a Bowl Subdivision team, Mangino went 50-48 over eight seasons at KU, from 2002-09.

The uptick was a 12-1 run in 2007, which culminated in an Orange Bowl victory over Virginia Tech, one of three postseason wins for Mangino in four appearances. The downfall included allegations of abusive behavior toward players , which cast a pall over a KU program that lost seven straight to close Mangino’s final season.

Mangino, 57, was out of coaching for three years. Over that period he traveled extensively with his wife, Mary Jane. He was alongside her as she successfully battled cancer.

“She’s a coach’s wife,” Mangino said. “She knows about challenges in life. I think her attitude is what’s really helped her through all this.”

Eventually the two moved closer to family when Mangino got back into coaching as an assistant at Youngstown State, the university from which he was graduated and where he previously served as an assistant.

The opportunity within the FCS program was offered by Eric Wolford, a former player Mangino coached at Kansas State. The two stayed in touch, and after contacting Mangino one night to discuss a particular issue, Wolford rang again the next morning.

“He was one of the toughest kids we ever had at K-State, and he’s one of the unsung guys in the turnaround,” Mangino said. “He was always in at K-State. He competed like a guy who was obsessed with winning, and he bought into coach (Bill) Snyder’s plan. So I said, ‘What the heck? I’ll go try to help Wolfie out a little bit and get back home.’ So it was good.

“My instincts said go there. You’re going to be able to help out someone you feel strongly about at a university you feel strongly about. In some corners that was met with skepticism, but I’ve gotten to a point in my life where I define my own happiness. I don’t have others define it for me.”

Mangino can look back with pride in his achievements at KU. Remember, that Orange Bowl squad finished No. 7 in the final polls after the Jayhawks climbed as high as No. 2.

Such is proof that football can succeed at Kansas, which has managed nine victories under two coaches in the four seasons since Mangino’s departure.

“I gave the best I had to offer for eight years,” Mangino said. “I’ve moved on. I’m in a good spot in life right now. I like where I’m at and I’m comfortable. What happened has happened, good, bad or indifferent. It’s over with.”

The players Mangino molds, the tendencies he massages and the game plan he manages at Iowa State will be accomplished with similar talent to that he worked with at Kansas. Few blue chips sign with the Cyclones, who tend to get blue-collar types who play hard for Rhoads, who stands 27-36 through five seasons at ISU.

At Kansas, Mangino often shuffled quarterbacks, though Bill Whittemore provided an early prototype as a tough battler, and Todd Reesing proved size did not matter as a record-breaking passer. Among running backs, Jon Cornish had tremendous vision off tackle, Brandon McAnderson was splendid on the zone read and Jake Sharp broke big gains outside.

Different players, different styles, but a scheme to fit their approach. The same diversity must exist at Iowa State in whatever package is installed by Mangino, who signed a two-year contract worth $350,000 in 2014 and $375,000 in 2015.

If the Cyclones excel offensively, the possibility exists that Mangino could oversee his own program again.

“In the back of my mind, there’s always that thought. But I can tell you this: I really want to get Iowa State’s offense rolling,” he said. “If I’m not a head coach again, my life won’t be incomplete. I’ve been very, very fortunate and thankful for all the experiences in coaching, and in life, that I’ve had.

“If it happens, it happens. I’m prepared for it. I’m a better football coach today than I was the day I walked out the door at the University of Kansas.”